Daily Current Affairs MCQ - August 10, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

Near field communication is a technology to transfer information between devices in close proximity using RF signals.
NFC technology offers wide range of features from keyless access to smart tags for medical applications.

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

It is a regional development bank.

• established on 19 December 1966.
• headquartered — Manila, Philippines.
• official United Nations Observer.

The bank admits the members of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP, formerly the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East or ECAFE) and non-regional developed countries.

It is modeled closely on the World Bank, and has a similar weighted voting system where votes are distributed in proportion with members’ capital subscriptions.

• As of 31 December 2019, ADB’s five largest shareholders are Japan and the United States (each with 15.6% of total shares), the People’s Republic of China (6.4%), India (6.3%), and Australia (5.8%).

Roles and functions:

Dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration.

• This is carried out through investments – in the form of loans, grants and information sharing – in infrastructure, health care services, financial and public administration systems, helping nations prepare for the impact of climate change or better manage their natural resources, as well as other areas.

Pyrostria laljii is new to science, and also the first record of the genus Pyrostria in India.

A 15-meter-tall tree that belongs to the genus of the coffee family has recently been discovered from the Andaman Islands.

Plants belonging to genus Pyrostria are usually found in Madagascar but the recently discovered species is new to science.

Pyrostria laljii has been assessed as ‘Critically Endangered’ based on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List criteria.

What is peacekeeping?

• United Nations Peacekeeping is a joint effort between the Department of Peace Operations and the Department of Operational Support.
• The financial resources of UN Peacekeeping operations are the collective responsibility of UN Member States.
• According to the UN Charter, every Member State is legally obligated to pay their respective share for peacekeeping.

UN Peacekeeping is guided by three basic principles:

1. Consent of the parties.
2. Impartiality.
3. Non-use of force except in self-defence and defence of the mandate.

e-RUPI is a cashless and contactless digital payment medium, which will be delivered to mobile phones of beneficiaries in form of an SMS-string or a QR code.

This will essentially be like a prepaid gift-voucher that will be redeemable at specific accepting centres without any credit or debit card, a mobile app or internet banking. e-RUPI will connect the sponsors of the services with the beneficiaries and service providers in a digital manner without any physical interface.

The platform, which has been developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the National Health Authority, will be a person-specific and purpose-specific payments system.

According to the government, e-RUPI is expected to ensure a leak-proof delivery of welfare services. It can also be used for delivering services under schemes meant for providing drugs and nutritional support under Mother and Child welfare schemes, TB eradication programmes, drugs & diagnostics under schemes like Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, fertiliser subsidies etc. The government also said that even the private sector can leverage these digital vouchers as part of their employee welfare and corporate social responsibility programmes.

• GeM is a one-stop National Public Procurement Portal to facilitate online procurement of common use Goods & Services required by various Central and State Government Departments/Organizations/Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs). Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• The procurement of goods and services by Ministries and the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) is mandatory for goods and services available on GeM. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• It also provides the tools of e-bidding and reverse e-auction to facilitate the government users to achieve the best value for their money.
• It was launched in 2016 to bring transparency and efficiency to the government buying process.
• The Ministry of Commerce and Industry is the nodal agency for the maintenance of GeM. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

• Under the scheme, the Centre transfers an amount of Rs 6,000 per year, in three equal instalments, directly into the bank accounts of all landholding farmers irrespective of the size of their landholdings. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
  • It was launched in February 2019.
• It is a Central Sector Scheme with 100% funding from the Government of India. However, The entire responsibility of identification of beneficiary farmer families rests with the State/UT Governments. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• It is being implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

• India hosts around 104 million (that is almost 8.6% of the country’s population).
• Though there are 705 ethnic groups that have been formally identified, out of which around 75 are Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).
  • The Gond comprise the largest tribal group of India.
  • The largest number of tribal communities (62) are found in Odisha. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• The central tribal belt which comprises the Northeastern states of India (including the region ranging from Rajasthan to West Bengal) boasts of the maximum concentration of indigenous population. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is the international body for assessing the science related to climate change.
  • It was set up in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to provide policymakers with regular assessments of the scientific basis of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Recently, the IPCC released the first part of its Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) titled Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis.
  • As per the report, the average surface temperature of the Earth will cross 1.5 °C over pre-industrial levels in the next 20 years (By 2040) and 2°C by the middle of the century without sharp reduction of emissions.
  • This is the first time that the IPCC has said that the 1.5°C warming of the earth is inevitable even in the best case scenario. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

• Article 342 (1) of the Indian Constitution says that the President of India may with respect to any State or Union Territory, and where it is a State, after consultation with the Governor, by a public notification, specify the tribes or tribal communities or part of or groups within tribes or tribal communities as Scheduled Tribe in relation to that State or Union Territory.
• Committees Related to Tribal Communities:
  • Xaxa Committee (2013)
  • Bhuria Commission (2002-2004)
  • Lokur Committee (1965)
• The Rohini Commission was constituted in October 2017 under Article 340 of the Constitution to submit its report on Sub-categorisation of Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
• Shivaraman Committee (1979) is associated with the establishment of NABARD.
• Hence, option A is correct.